Too often Christians act as if the grace of God means they will not be held accountable to God in all that they are doing. They couldn’t be more wrong. We are saved by grace, but we will be judged in the end for all that we have done.
Your obedience won’t save you, but it will determine your rewards. “The Lord rewards people who are faithful and live right” (1 Samuel 26:23 CEV).
The judgment of the saved is not to determine if they will get into heaven, for their salvation was based purely on what Christ did on the Cross. The judgment of the saved is the measure of the reward that a person will receive when they get into heaven.
Live the life on earth that you would want to be remembered by in heaven. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10 NKJV).
The rewards in heaven are not monetary, as if the standards of the world would matter there. The rewards will be the role that we have, the position the Lord assigns to us, and the closeness that we will have with the Lord.
Good choices are the best investment for an eternal reward. “‘Pay attention!’ [says Yeshua,] ‘I am coming soon, and my rewards are with me to give to each person according to what he has done’” (Revelation 22:12 CJB).
We cannot undo what we have done wrong and where we have failed to do good. History is complete, but the present stands before us. We don’t have to do anything great, but we can do things that are pleasing to the Lord. We can make God smile.
The best reward for God’s servants is God’s smile. “For it is not the one who commends himself that is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends” (2 Corinthians 10:18 NASB).
The Christian faith is not measured by what we know or what we accomplish but by how we treat other people. The measurements that matter more to God are the motives of our hearts and the temperature of our attitude. Pleasing God starts in your heart.
Why you do is more important than what you do. “But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve” (Jeremiah 17:10 NLT).
The highest seat is often furthest from the stage of being noticed. “Examine your motives to make sure you’re not showing off when you do your good deeds, only to be admired by others; otherwise, you will lose the reward of your heavenly Father” (Matthew 6:1 TPT).
You’re not accountable to God for every thought that enters your mind, but you are accountable for every thought that you choose to entertain and pursue. If you want to win the battle for living right, it will always begin in your thought life.
If you don’t do anything different, then nothing is ever going to change. “…let the [Holy] Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes” (Ephesians 4:23 NLT).
You’re accountable to God for your attitude. You’re given the Holy Spirit, who can give you the fruit of a good attitude, but do you have the good ground from which the Holy Spirit can plant the seeds that the fruit of the Spirit would flourish?
It’s the fruit of the Holy Spirit that will prove if the Holy Spirit is reigning in you. “But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…” (Galatians 5:22-23 AMP).
You’re accountable to Jesus for being obedient to His commands. Obedience lays the path on which the Lord can pour out His help to grow you even further. Obedience is greater than any other religious act you can ever do.
Kingdom success is measured by who you are, not what you have. “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works” (Matthew 16:27 NKJV).
You’re accountable to God for how you treat other people, regardless of how other people treat you. You may think you have the right to be critical and harsh with other people, but know that God will hold you accountable for every word that you say.
Your criticism of others reveals more about you than them. “But you, why do you criticize your brother? Or you again, why do you look down on your [believing] brother or regard him with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God [who alone is judge]. So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:10,12 AMP).
It’s in the small things we do where Christ wants to change us. “And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded” (Matthew 10:42 NLT).
You’re accountable to God for how you spend your time. If you’re always selfish or lazy, then God will reward you accordingly. If you’re always busy but never spend time with people who need you, God will see that and keep a record of that.
Holiness requires judgment to separate the good from the bad. “God is going to judge everything we do, whether good or bad, even things done in secret” (Ecclesiastes 12:14 GNT).
Stop acting like the grace of God is going to somehow erase the judgment of God for how you live your life. You were not saved to remain the way you were but to be made new by the power of God working in you. You must let God help you.
In the world, what you do publicly matters most, but for the Lord, what you do secretly matters most. “…your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:6 NKJV).
It’s never too late until it is. Don’t regret how you have lived your life so far, but pray that God would help you to live better. Find a person who can hold you accountable so that when God holds you accountable, you may have already learned a few lessons.
The worst loss is when you give up. “But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded” (2 Chronicles 15:7 NIV).
Blessings to you always,
Paul Balius